WASHINGTON: The US special envoy to Af-Pak, Marc Grossman, is stepping down after leading the American diplomatic campaign in the volatile region for two years as President Barack Obama’s pointsman to the crucial zone.

Grossman would be replaced by his Deputy Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, David D Pearce in an acting capacity.

His resignation would come into effect from December 14.

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, had roped in Grossman, a former State Department diplomat, after the sudden death of Richard Holbrooke, in 2010.

“The Secretary (of State) thanks Ambassador Grossman for his efforts to help create the diplomatic surge that Secretary Clinton laid out in her 2011 speech at the Asia Society,” the spokesperson for the Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Eileen O’Conner, told The Cable.

“What you’ve seen over the last year is his effort to lead a diplomatic campaign which put in place a network of regional and international support for Afghanistan post 2014 and into the next decade,” she said.